fair to compare Sony A100 with Nikon D200?

With the Sony being a 10MP DSLR too...is it fair to compare it with the Nikon D200?

Many seems to do so...and recommending the Sony as it has a half price tag of the Nikon D200.

Nikon, in order to tackle this "problem", has come out with a teaser of another 10MP DSLR...but before it is officially on the shelf...people might still compare the current D200 with the Sony A100.

What do you think?

--
KOH KHO KING
http://www.ShaShinKi.com

Is the Sony a great camera? Probably is

Is the Sony a great camera for someone wanting to get into the DSLR ownership arena? Sure

Is the Sony a great camera for someone that already owns Nikon or Canon equipment? No

Is the Sony a great camera for someone that already owns Minolta lenses? Yes

Is the Sony in the same league as the D200? No (and there are many reasons behind this answer, one being the Nikon Creative Lighting System CLS, and too many others to mention)

Will the new Nikon D80 and Sony A100 be two cameras to compare to each other? Yes

Is the new built-in VR function in the Sony camera a great idea? Yes (makes lens choices much easier and cheaper to manufacture and buy)

If you are an outdoors non-flash shooter and don't yet own a DSLR is the Sony A100 right for you? It very well could be.

Should you wait for the Nikon D80 and it's reviews before purchasing the Sony A100? I would if you can.

Why should you wait? Well, because there are some folks that I think that have already seen the full specs on the Nikon D80 that have indirectly confirmed some of the D80's specifications that it will have many of the functions, abilities and accessories that the D200 already has at a very attractive price.

Go buy the Sony A100, a couple of lenses, the flash and come back and tell us how you like it.

Some folks on here won't mind you giving us a rundown on how good it really is. I think it would be better for us Nikon consumers if it is a great camera so that Nikon will have to continue making great and better products. Competition is really what drives products and companies to be better.

Would be nice if Nikon and Fuji could merge and consolidate their Engineering Force to take on Canon and now Sony. I think that marriage would make for a bad a$$ end result.

JP

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John M. Polston
Atlanta, GA

Most reviews are not comparing it to the D200

THe most comprehensive review I have seen so far compares it to the Evolt and the Canon Eos Digital Rebel XT.

The big deal seems to be that one of the first reviews compared it to the D200 because of the 10 MP aspect...

Don't expect most reviews to compare it to the NIkon D200.

kohkhoking said:

With the Sony being a 10MP DSLR too...is it fair to compare it with
the Nikon D200?

Click to expand...

There are indeed some direct comparisons - like the sensor, etc. However, the camera as a whole are in totally different class. While the Sony is in a plastic body with almost everything slower compared to that on the D200. Similarly, there is just no comparison build wise.

kohkhoking said:

Many seems to do so...and recommending the Sony as it has a half
price tag of the Nikon D200.

Click to expand...

I am not surprised. Except for the sensor, there is hardly anything that can be compared really. Think about the film SLR days. The sensor equivalent was same for all SLR cameras. But still there was a significant price difference from body to body. No one ever challenged why F100 was selling at almost twice that of F/N80! The same analogy applies here as well.

kohkhoking said:

Nikon, in order to tackle this "problem", has come out with a
teaser of another 10MP DSLR...but before it is officially on the
shelf...people might still compare the current D200 with the Sony
A100.

Click to expand...

There was really no problem that Nikon was trying to tackle. There was just a market segment that Nikon did not have full coverage of. Now they will cover that with this - to be announced - D80. Yes, I fully expect it to complete with the likes of A100, etc.

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

It is not a good comparison any more than you would compare a Porshe with a 300 hp engine with a Subaru with a 300 hp engine. (Sorry Subaru lovers, just an example, but a valid one.)

The question in my mind is how is Canon going to respond? They did well with the 8MP Rebel XT when everyone had 6MP cameras, but now the Rebel has been eclipsed a bit by the Sony A100, Pentax K10, and the Nikon D80.
--
JohnE
Equipment list in profile

'My children say that I am the family paparazzi .'

Sure it's Fair. But to me it's like comparing Rice Krispies Treats with Apple Pie.

Both Can be eaten as a treat, but only one is Made with Real Fruit.

--
Johnny

Just wondering.

one of my fathers friends has just purchased the sony A100 and he asked me to teach him how to use it, it's is a horrible plastic toy in my opinion, in compraison to any Nikon let along a D200 it might have the same sensor but the build quaility and ergonomics are awful.
--
Chris Horsley
Equipment in Profile

I think not, at least not for the 10Mp alone.

I think people are forgetting film days, you could get a Nikon F50 or a F6, both had the same "megapixels", and the exact same image quality using the same film/lens, are these two comparable...not in my opinion.

--
Regards,
Fernando

http://www.naturescenes.com.sapo.pt

no text

kohkhoking said:

With the Sony being a 10MP DSLR too...is it fair to compare it with
the Nikon D200?

Click to expand...

Was it fair to compare a Nikon F100 to a Minolta Dynax 7?

Of course it was, but the answer is still the same today.

Regards,
Bernard

azguy said:

It is not a good comparison any more than you would compare a
Porshe with a 300 hp engine with a Subaru with a 300 hp engine.
(Sorry Subaru lovers, just an example, but a valid one.)

Click to expand...

Well, Top Gear did compare an Evo with a Lambo, and the Evo did beat the Lambo....well, sort of....

Anyway, the Alpha really feels like a toy that would break if dropped. However, for the 'uninitiated' who wants to buy their first D-SLR, Sony will definitely do a better marketing job than Nikon or Canon. It is also a very cheap way to enter the D-SLR world with the MP; most 'uninitiated' people are usually cheap measurabators.

--------------------

Amateur Photographer, constructive criticism most welcome: http://www.pbase.com/kennethw

FernandoBatista said:

I think not, at least not for the 10Mp alone.

I think people are forgetting film days, you could get a Nikon F50
or a F6, both had the same "megapixels", and the exact same image
quality using the same film/lens, are these two comparable...not in
my opinion.

Click to expand...

I agree. You could put the same film in a $200 SLR or a top end SLR, but the use and results you got were vastly different.
--
JohnE
Equipment list in profile

'My children say that I am the family paparazzi .'

You may have seen big lists here.

You know, it's true that d200 is more this and that, but there's always something from A100 that makes me think that d200 is overpriced.
Sony does know how to stir the pot

regards,
Aal

I agree with your overall point, but really the argument is flawed since we can't change sensors like we could change films.

Maybe you wouldn't buy an F6 if it was locked into using some crappy film compared to a cheaper camera with better film?

However, I think the jury is still out on whether the a100's 'film' is better than the d200's. For instance, in the original d200 review, they took the time to try a higher sharpening setting than default on some of the tests (for jpeg) and using raw, but the resolution tests are still done with default parameters. In other words, the a100 might just have better default settings for a resolution test.

My expectation is that the results are going to be close to identical once you get past default in-camera processing. If that's the case, then the 'film' is identical, so the comparison becomes about everything else as you suggest.

John,

I agree with you in most of you considerations on this. But while I don't doubt that the Sony is a very capablle camera, I find the comparison to the D200 a bit unfair.

The D200 seems to have so many more facilities, better build, more accesories and to me seems aimed at a different market - and a different price segment.

John M. Polston said:

Is the Sony a great camera for someone that already owns Minolta
lenses? Yes

Click to expand...

This is one point where I don't fully agree. I have a KM 7D and a bunch of good lenses. I did not want to see a souped up 5D but rather a souped up 7D or a 9D. I didn't need landscape or fireworks mode. I needed more pixels and great build. KM didn't deliver that. Sony doesn't deliver that (yet). So I switched to Nikon and bought a D200 and I have not looked back.

My Minolta stuff will come up for sale soon and I'll spend the money on Nikon glass.

John M. Polston said:

Is the Sony in the same league as the D200?

Click to expand...

Agree! These are different cameras - not just two comparable 10MP bodies.
My father-in-law would feel fine with a Sony.
A D200 would intimidate him.

I on the other hand would feel under-stimulated with a Sony, while the D200 tickles my senses the right way.

Coming from 25 years of Minolta SLR use I spent some time considering this change for those interested:
http://500th.net/?id=23
http://500th.net/?id=35

Martin

--
Martin Joergensen, Copenhagen, Denmark
http://500th.net

Exactly. And it's going to be just as fair (and probably a whole lot more relevant) when we start comparing the D80 to the D200.

Same film, same resolution, same dynamic range.

Just doesn't make sense !

After all, the bells and whistles don't make any difference to the price ! Or so some of the posters here seem to believe !

--
http://www.pbase.com/jola13

Jola013 said:

Same film, same resolution, same dynamic range.

Just doesn't make sense !

After all, the bells and whistles don't make any difference to the
price ! Or so some of the posters here seem to believe !

Click to expand...

Dependability, durability, design, metal frame, internal seals, ergonomics, faster focusing, more accurate metering, a better flash system, a better and more extensive lens system. These things all mean a LOT to people who use their camera extensively, or know how to use their camera. These are not just bells and whistles.
--
JohnE
Equipment list in profile

'My children say that I am the family paparazzi .'

The Sept issue of Pop Photo does a test on the Sony A100 and compares it to the Rebel XT and the Evolt E330, which are more in its range, not to the D200.
--
JohnE
Equipment list in profile

'My children say that I am the family paparazzi .'